In Full Flow
April was a tough month for the yard as the horses struggled to find top form, however that all seems like a very long time ago now as the horses have really started to fly.
It was the fillies that got the ball well and truly rolling as Feathery managed to break her maiden in impressive fashion at Thirsk, however it was a run of black type performances that really caught the eye. The incredible Mia Tesoro put up another carrier best performance at Newmarket in the Group 2 Dahlia Stakes where she finished an amazing fourth, beaten the smallest of margins for third. Mia Tesoro has been one of my proudest achievements as she arrived at St Gatien Stables with an official BHA rating of just 57, however she has now been stakes placed three times and continues to thrive. She will probably head to Epsom next for The Princess Elizabeth Stakes (Group 3).
However, the best was yet to come as yard legend Carolinae grab some much-deserved black type by finishing third in the Kilvington Stakes at Nottingham. Dropped out the back by Kevin Stott, she looked like finishing tailed off with 2 furlongs to run, but an incredible turn of foot saw her pass most of the field and fly home for third. She was the first horse to enter my yard when I took out a licence five years ago and she means an awful lot to all of my team as well as myself. Will Snaith has ridden her for the last three years and has done the most incredible job on her as she has not been easy to train. Hopefully she might be able to pick up some more black type at Chelmsford in June where there is a very valuable listed race for fillies over seven furlongs.
Next to step up and grab some black type was two-year-old Snazzy who managed to finish third in the Marygate Stakes at York, despite getting no cover and racing with the choke out for the majority of the race. I don’t mean any disservice to the two fillies that beat us that day but I genuinely believe that had she got some cover early in the race, she would have won. All in all, it was a great result as she is my first horse for Highclere Thoroughbreds and the black type would have really boosted her value to them. She will now head to Royal Ascot for the Queen Mary where I am sure she will give us all a big shout.
More recently the winners have started rolling in as Crimson Rosette, Paco’s Prince and Chiefofchiefs all made it into the winners’ enclosure over the last week. I have always held Crimson Rosette in high regard and she won impressively under a great ride from Jim Crowley. I feel that she has now earnt herself a crack at some black type and she could head to the Nottinghamshire Oaks in June. Chiefofchiefs is another horse we have always liked and he looked very impressive at Sandown when taking the Whitsun Cup under Richard Kingscotte. Things didn’t go right last time at Chelmsford when he got stuck wide, and the time before that he had run very well on a track that doesn’t suit his style of racing. Hopefully this is the platform for him to really kick on this year as I genuinely believe he is stakes class. Finally, it was Paco’s Prince who got the tears flowing at Kempton for his delighted owners Stewart Turner and Amanda Wilson-Martin. I thought he would go close last time out at Lingfield but he got a poor draw and never really got into the race. Once again drawn wide, apprentice Aled Beech gave him a peach of a ride as he dropped him out early, before bringing him through horses under a hands and heels ride to win cosily. As it was an apprentice race, he can run again without carrying a penalty and luckily, he has got an entry at Windsor, which he might take up now the rain has arrived. Aled has recently joined the yard and has been a fantastic addition to the team. He has hit the post a few times on our runners but everyone was delighted to see him bring home a winner.
Looking ahead we have a big weekend in store as Mia Tesoro head to Epsom on Derby day for a Group 3, while Jeremiah goes to Doncaster for a very valuable staying handicap and Feathery heads to Scotland for some valuable black type at Musselburgh. Good luck to all connections!
Prince Of Arran is also heading off on his travels again, although this time in the opposite direction as he pops across the Atlantic Ocean to New York to run in the Belmont Gold Cup over two miles. The conditions should be perfect as he will get his much-needed quick ground and they usually go a strong pace over there. Hopefully he can do that yard proud once again.